Land swap agreed for town centre regeneration

A land-swap deal has been struck between the Royal Mail and Rotherham Council as part of a major town centre regeneration scheme.

It will allow work to continue on a new walkway linking Rotherham town centre with future housing developments as part of the Riverside Residential Quarter project.

Under the deal, the council will take control of land from Royal Mail's site on Main Street, while handing over a slightly smaller parcel of its own land nearby so the postal service can reorganise its operations.

The agreement was finalised in March after lengthy negotiations, with council officers warning that failure to reach a deal could have left partially completed works at risk.

No money would change hands as part of the exchange, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Council documents stated the land-swap was needed to complete the planned "River Walk", which would open up public access along the river and better connect the town centre with new development sites.

It would also allow Royal Mail to modernise its depot, including plans to introduce a fleet of electric delivery vehicles once its yard had been reconfigured, the documents said.

The council has already begun work in the area, including repairs to the river wall and construction of new pathways.

The total cost of delivering the river walk to this point has been put at more than £630,000, funded through government regeneration grants.

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